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Old Hutt Page
"The term 'Hutt Law' is only slightly less oxymoronic than the term 'Republic Law'... and twice as fun." :::-- Cerebra the Hutt to Karin, 36 BBY The Great Hutt Nation is nearly as old as the Republic, and like the Republic its dawn is shrouded in mystery, myth, and speculation. Some Hutts hold that their race is on a genetic path to godhood; that through continued breeding they will become larger and more pungent in their power than any other species in the Galaxy; others believe that it is the entrepreneurial spirit of the Hutts that has brought them such success; still others believe that the legendary power called "the Force" has filled them and swollen their bodies and souls, favoring them in galactic conflict. No matter the story, the question of how a race of gargantuan slug monsters, ill favored for even the most mild physical self-defense came to rule a criminal Empire that has enslaved many more physically potent species remains a puzzling source of speculation for historians of the Hutt Nation. What is certain is this: somehow these slug monster have managed to forge a Nation that defies that term. Although it maintains a rather brutal sovereignty, it is largely lawless. Although it has subjects, their welfare is of almost no consequence to the state. Although it has a hierarchical administrative structure with proper laws and customs, it is ruled by might and deception. Perhaps these attributes do not distinguish it so much from other governments, however the openness with which these attributes are embraced is a unique attribute of the Great Hutt Nation. Administrative Structure The Great Hutt Nation is roughly divided into a sort of judicial element, and executive element: the Barons and the Bosses. In recent years, a third sort of branch has been added over and above these others, with de facto Brood control of the Hutt Nation: that of the military. The Barony of the Hutts Every Hutt is a Baron of the Great Hutt Nation, by merit of his birth. The rank of Baron may not be attained by non-Hutts, and may never be taken from a Hutt. By merit of being a Baron, every Hutt is entitled to the special protection afforded by the Great Hutt Nation. It is criminal for anyone in the Great Hutt Nation to assault a Baron, and this is one of the greatest crimes imaginable. In addition to having special protection, Hutt Barons are also subject to the decrees of the Barony. These decrees are not pronounced by anything as formal as a vote, nor do all Barons have "equal say" in matters of decree. Indeed, if anything can be said for certain of the Hutt Barons it is that they are not all created equal. One's standing in the Barony is often directly related to one's power: be that in wealth, influence, or military might. The Barony may pronounce judgment on any Baron, with punishments ranging from fines to life imprisonment in the notorious Dungeon of the Hutts on Nar Shaddaa-- but never can the Barony pronounce a penalty of death on a Hutt. Still, it is not uncommon for Barons to die by assassination, and the favored method is the poisoning of a truffle frog. Outside of Baron to Baron relations, a Baron's word may be considered law. This often leads to convoluted interactions. Technically, a Baron may order any non-Baron to do whatever he wants, and may seize the property of a non-Baron wantonly. However, given the physically helpless nature of most Hutts, Barons often have Major Domos and other associates upon whom they have granted their protection. Thus, while any Baron could steal wantonly from a protected associate, to do so would likely incur the wrath of the protecting Baron. Most Hutts have a firmly established sense of their place in this ranking, and those that do not often find themselves consuming poisoned truffle frogs. Current PC Barons: Cerebra the Hutt, Vordo the Hutt, Marbo the Hutt, Jabba the Hutt, Bulba the Hutt (AKA Druga the Hutt) Former PC Barons: Rooga the Hutt, Darlana the Hutt, Lolinar the Hutt, Gunga the Hutt The Family of Bosses Bosses of the Great Hutt Nation as those Hutts (normally) who have managed to secure a territory over which they are the acknowledged leader. Within the Family of Bosses, there are two sort of "ranks." The Supreme Boss, and the Bosses, who are often more or less influential depending on the importance of the planet that they occupy. Some of the Bosses have slightly different titles, by tradition. The Supreme Boss Traditionally, the Barony of the Hutts "decide" on a Supreme Boss, who exercises executive authority over the Y'Toub System and appoints by decree the Bosses of the various other planets in the Nation. This isn't voting in the traditional sense, however. Powerful Hutt Barons cow or coerce the weakest Hutt Barons into supporting whomever they wish, and offer favors or bribes to Barons of middling power for their support. This usually results in a series of Hutt factions of shifting alliance who work together to appoint someone the position of Supreme Boss. Sometimes the Hutt appointed is not the head of the appointing faction, and the Hutt with the "true power" rules from the shadows. No matter the case, the appointment of the position of Boss to the various tributary worlds of the Great Hutt Nation is often directly linked to the appointment of Supreme Boss. Equally often, the change of the guard results in little death or bloodletting. When a Hutt Baron has managed to acquire the support of a greater faction than the previous Supreme Boss, few Hutts wish to turn to war to decide the issue. Instead, a bit of light embezzlement follows one Supreme Boss out of office, and a deposed Supreme Boss lives to scheme his rise to power for another day. Recently, tradition has been broken on a number of counts. As Cerebra the Hutt was paroled from his imprisonment in the Dungeon of the Hutts, he has been increasingly scheming and plotting to install a government that will support his aggressive military policies. Since few but the most opportunistic Hutts have a taste for such things, Cerebra the Hutt's actions have been unorthodox. Rather than secure the support of the Barony, Cerebra the Hutt helped to install first Jabba the Hutt, and later Rooga the Hutt as the Supreme Boss. These installations were accomplished, unsettlingly, by the murder of the former Supreme Boss, Darlana the Hutt. When Jabba the Hutt retired from his office and Rooga the Hutt was assassinated, Cerebra the Hutt broke from tradition even more so, and staggeringly, by using the threat of violence to install a non-Hutt, Aldog, into the position. Many have speculated as to the reason that Cerebra the Hutt has supported a non-Hutt. Perhaps no Hutt could be trusted to support his militarism? Perhaps a non-Hutt would be uniquely aware of the peril of his position as an appointment by Cerebra the Hutt, and thus more likely to maintain loyalty? Perhaps Cerebra the Hutt does not share his fellows' avid sense of the genetic superiority of the Hutts? No matter the reason, this is a unique move in the history of the Hutt Nation. Current PC Supreme Boss: Aldog Former PC Supreme Bosses: Rooga the Hutt, Jabba the Hutt, Darlana the Hutt, Lolinar the Hutt, Gunga the Hutt, Bulba the Hutt. Bosses Within a Boss's territory, any criminal enterprise must technically be approved by the Boss. This usually includes giving the Boss a piece of the action, which is the Hutt Nation's equivalent of taxation. In addition to having sole authority to approve or deny any business venture, the Boss of a territory is responsible for its defense, its loyalty to the Hutt Nation at large, and often pays a substantial tribute to the Supreme Boss. The Boss of a territory may also grant his protection to non-Hutts. In addition to the traditional Bosses of Camodai, Ardak, and Gamor, several systems have recently been brought more officially under the purview of the Great Hutt Nation: Ord Mantell, Kessel and Tatooine. These planets, with their present Boss (or other overlord) are listed below, in the order of their importance to the Great Hutt Nation, and consequently their influence in the Barony and the criminal underworld: Warden of Kessel Security: Vordo the Hutt Magistrate of Ord Mantell: Cerebra the Hutt Boss of Camodai: Jabba the Hutt Boss of Ardak: Braken Boss of Gamor: Cerebra the Hutt Speaker for Tatooine: Maltorus Valen The Hutt Military In recent days, with the growing influence of Cerebra the Hutt, various mercenary groups and assorted bodyguards and hitmen have all been cowed by the military strength of the Brood of Zergata. Even though there remain substantial military forces that Cerebra the Hutt does not technically have command or control of, there are none in the Great Hutt Nation with the means to oppose him. As General of the Brood of Zergata, Cerebra the Hutt has thus enforced a new title that represents his de facto "final control" of the Hutt Nation: High Baron of the Hutts. Despite this de fact control, Cerebra the Hutt seems to have little to no interest in managing the criminal side of the underworld. For more information about the Brood of Zergata, see the article by that name. Economy The Great Hutt Nation has an economy based almost entirely on activities which would be either questionably moral or outright despicable, and often illegal, in any other part of the Galaxy. These sources of income can be roughly divided into: slavery, arms dealing, the spice trade, and sundry. Slavery The Great Hutt Nation enslaves species from all over the Galaxy: the less they enjoy slavery, the more expensive the slave, with Wookiees and Whiphids being particularly sought after as males, and Twi'leks and Humans being particularly sought after as females. More common slaves include the Gamorreans, who have been cowed and wrangled by the Hutt Nation. The Hutt Nation acquires these slaves in any number of ways: either from the children of vanquished foes, raids on other worlds, dark business dealings, extortion, or the wide-spread enslavement of a species (as in the case of Gamorreans and orphans of Ord Mantell). The Hutt Nation then sells its slaves to anyone who will buy them: from humanitarian organizations that set the slaves free, to gangsters and politicians. Arms Dealing The Hutt Nation's second most despicable economic boon is its arms dealing. Tenloss Corp. operates on the Outer Rim, and is known for making shoddy, dirty-cheap weapons that can turn any gangster into a petty warlord. In addition to personal arms and armor, mercenary guilds operate on all major Hutt worlds, putting together despicable groups of thugs and contract killers who would slit their mothers' throats for a credit. Finally, for those seeking the biggest guns available for a reasonable price, there is the Nubian Collective, a Shipyard that has operated under the governance of the Hutts for more than a millenia. Like most of the Hutt weapon enterprises, the rule is "cheap" rather than potent, and there are numerous cutting edge shipyards and weapons dealers outside of the Great Hutt Nation, but still in the Outer Rim. Still, the Great Hutt Nation has developed a few newer, more capable models, including the Supernova. The Spice Trade Almost always under the control of one Hutt or another, Kessel is notorious for it's spice mines. Here, and here alone in the Galaxy the rare and strange narcotic known as spice is mined from the fifth planet in the Kessel System. Although it is referred to as a "prison," it could just as easily be considered a slave camp. The Galaxy's most unwated are sent to Kessel as punishment or to simply end their life in a manner more miserable than death, to spend it mining spice, to have their bodies slowly degrade from handling the material raw. After the spice is mined, it is transfered to a refinery in orbit of Kessel, where it is processed into the pure form of the drug. From there, the pure "spice tabs" are transfered to the secure "Warden's Colony" on the seventh planet of the Kessel System. Here, the Warden of Kessel sells the spice to select buyers. Once the spice is sold in its pure form, it is further cut and processed into a number of final consumptive forms, everything from the popular "death sticks" which are smoked, to the "sassy slurry" which is injected, to the short-lived product "Slurm," which was drunk. Once processed in that state, the narcotic is shipped around the Galaxy and sold to addicts (commonly known as "spice-heads") and those who are curious. Sundry In addition to the backbone of the Hutt Economy, listed in some detail above, the Hutts make money through a number of business ventures. Gambling, and various forms of extortion and blackmail make up a fair three percent of the Hutt Nation's annual reported income. The Hutt's investment in the misery of others takes somewhat more legitimate forms as well: death races, gladiatorial games, poaching, assassination, and terrorism are but a few of the economic endeavors that, while substantially less profitable than those listed above, are still considered respectable pastimes by the Hutts. The lower ranking Hutts engage in these activities for livelihood, the higher ranking... for fun.